Iowans meet Sen. Harkin in DC

Days after the Nov. 6 election, CCI members met with Senator Harkin in Des Moines to discuss the upcoming fiscal cliff facing Americans at year’s end. We asked Senator Harkin to stand with everyday people and push for a deal that preserves vital public programs and asks the wealthy to pay their fair share.

Senator Harkin told us with assurance that no deal is better than a bad deal – he would not accept any deal that involved cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other vital social programs; or where the wealthy and big corporations did not pay more.

And he said the same thing to CCI members and nearly 100 others from groups across the country in Washington, DC in early December. We were there as part of a convening of groups hosted by the Campaign for Community Change, all unified under the principle that we need jobs, not cuts, to jump start our economy.

If we are to get our economy back on track, we need to focus on raising revenue and investing in jobs and services that rebuild our economy from the ground up – not cuts to vital programs millions paid into and depend upon.

The November 6 elections mattered, but were merely a step in the right direction. The next step is for us to demand our elected officials work for a Fair Deal or no deal.

A fair deal for the American people means:

ending the Bush era tax cuts for the richest 2%

strengthening Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid without cutting benefits

amend the haphazard implementation of the sequester to prevent senseless cuts and take time to address our nation’s fiscal issues.

And it’s up to us to make sure our elected officials put people before big corporations and Wall Street interests. It’s up to us to fight back against the austerity narrative that benefits corporate power over everyday people.

What you can do:

Contact your Representative and tell them that we want a fair deal or no deal as a response to the upcoming “fiscal cliff”. Call (855) 521-4799 and simply follow the instructions to be connected.

Write a letter to the editor explaining the importance of Social Security and Medicare and how our elected officials need to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2% – not cut vital programs that benefit millions of everyday people.

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